Heart of a King
by The Plaid Slytherin
Summary: Ned refuses Robert's request, forcing him to turn to his brothers for help.


A/N: Written for the got-exchange on Livejournal for **emynithilien**. Prompt was What if Ned simply refused Robert's request to become Hand of the King? Thanks to **Dethryl** for betaing. The first few lines of dialogue come from the crypt scene in _A Game of Throne._

* * *

He had to ask now or he would lose what nerve he had left. "I have need of you, Ned."

"I am yours to command, Your Grace. Always." The words were unnaturally stiff, unlike Ned. Robert's apprehension took hold of him. The words streamed out, hoping to put off the answer he dreaded.

"Those years we spent in the Eyrie … gods, those were good years. I want you at my side again, Ned. I want you down in King's Landing, not up here at the end of the world where you are no damned use to anybody. I swear to you, sitting a throne is a thousand times harder than winning one. Laws are a tedious business and counting coppers is worse. And the people … there is no end of them. I sit on that damnable iron chair and listen to them complain until my mind is numb and my ass is raw. They all want something, money or land or justice. The lies they tell … and my lords and ladies are no better. I am surrounded by flatterers and fools. It can drive a man to madness, Ned. Half of them don't dare tell me the truth, and the other half can't find it. There are nights I wish we had lost at the Trident. Ah, no, not truly, but…"

He could see it now, what it would be like with Ned as his Hand—to have a true friend and advisor, the only one he could really trust. Ned would sort out what was actually important and bring it to him—not just to save Robert the trouble of ruling, but to keep him from letting his exasperation and fatigue get the better of him, push him into making the wrong decision.

How many mistakes had he made because he'd simply wanted to get a council meeting over with? How many liberties had he given Baelish because he hadn't truly listened? Ned would always listen. Ned would always make the right decision.

"I understand," Ned said.

Robert looked at him, full of relief. He knew Ned would understand. It would be all right. The realm would be saved. "I think you do. If so, you are the only one, my old friend." He smiled. "Lord Eddard Stark, I would name you the Hand of the King."

Ned's answer was swift and blunt. "Your Grace, I must refuse."

Robert's mouth dropped open. "What?" He felt hot despite the chill of the crypts.

"Robert, truly, you are like my brother, but I cannot do this for you." Ned's eyes bore intensely into his. There was warmth and love there; this refusal, the choice between his friend and King and the land he had sworn to protect, pained him.

Robert reached for his arm. "Is this about Robb? He is nearly a man grown! He's more than capable of managing the place in your absence. And as for protecting the North, then, what in seven hells is the Wall for?"

Ned didn't waver. "I truly am sorry, Robert. I cannot leave Winterfell. I cannot leave my family."

Robert sighed and withdrew his hand. "I was hoping you could not refuse in front of Lyanna." He looked again at her carved stone features, then looked away. What would Lyanna say of the fat King he had become? Would any of this even have happened had she been his Queen? He would have been a much better ruler with her at his side.

Ned's smile was small, but present. "She loved the North. She would know that the Warden of North's place is at Winterfell.'

"Aye, you are right, Ned. You're always right. That's why I wanted you as my Hand."

"I am honored by the offer. More than I can say."

"But what am I to do, Ned?" Robert ran a hand through his hair. "If only you could see them! The Lannisters, my wife, what I have for an heir. Look at _me_ , Ned! What happened to the man who took the crown?"

"He is still there, Robert, I know it. I know you have the heart of a king. You could not have won on the Trident if you didn't."

"I wish I believed you. Jon Arryn was practically King, the others take him. Not to mention Stannis, who has fled back to Dragonstone."

"Why has he done that?"

"Damned if I know. Would you reconsider being my Hand, Ned?" Robert tried to smile. "If you say no, I will have to ask Stannis. If you were truly my friend, you would save me that shame."

Ned smiled and placed a hand on Robert's shoulder. "There, you have your wit still. That is the Robert I always knew."

Robert laughed. "If you see him, tell him I could use his help. It will be a long and lonely journey back down the Kingsroad without you."

* * *

The letter lay on the painted table, looking harmless enough. Stannis had read it enough times to have nearly memorized it, but when Ser Davos Seaworth entered the room, he still picked it up and unfolded it to read again.

"You called for me, my lord?" Davos asked.

"Read this." Stannis held the scroll out and Davos swallowed hard.

"My lord, if you will remember—"

"Yes, yes, you have no letters." At times, that was an inconvenience, but not one worth forgoing Davos's counsel for. Stannis withdrew the parchment. "It is from my brother, the King. He asks that I return to King's Landing immediately to take up the position of his Hand."

"Congratulations, my lord. When do you leave?"

Stannis narrowed his eyes. "So, you think I should accept?"

Davos paused. "Your King asks something of you." To him, the answer seemed obvious. But he had not grown up with Robert.

"Yes, and Ned Stark has already refused the offer. Why should I take his leavings?"

"The Hand of the King is a prestigious position. More so than Master of Ships."

"I know that. I helped Jon Arryn rule this kingdom for years while my brother got drunker and fatter. Why should I help him now?"

"He is your brother, my lord. I cannot speak from experience for I have none, but I would hope my sons would do the same for each other. Family is important. Blood."

"That is true." Stannis paused, gaze fixed out the window at the sea outside. He remembered standing by Robert's side, watching their parents perish in the storm. It was perhaps the last time he had stood beside Robert without some resentment. Everything had changed since then. "Why should I stay here on Dragonstone when our younger brother holds both Storm's End and a position on the small council?"

Davos nodded. "That is true, my lord. You would sit above him as Hand, as you should as the elder brother."

Stannis stroked his beard in thought. It was true that he had wanted the job in the first place and had only left King's Landing because Robert had gone to ask Ned Stark instead of him, even after his many years of service on the small council.

And, of course, there was the other matter, the one Robert remained ignorant of. Withholding that information would be petty and dishonorable, bordering on treasonous.

"Does something else trouble you, my lord?" Davos asked. Damn his perceptiveness. Stannis was glad the Onion Knight was loyal to a fault. If there was any possibility of his betrayal, none of Stannis's secrets would be safe.

Stannis stepped away from the window. "There is something you should know. Someone should, at least. The Lannisters have killed Jon Arryn because he knew it, so it is right that I tell you so that two men know again. Lord Arryn and I discovered that the Queen's children cannot be Robert's trueborn..."

* * *

Robert sighed. His instinct at a time like this would be to pour himself a cup of wine, but he knew that would not ease his mind beyond allowing him to forget his problems temporarily. That was why he'd called for water instead. He was still blindsided by Ned Stark's refusal to come to King's Landing as his Hand. He had craved Ned's advice, had believed Ned's daughter would make a good match for his son. Joffrey needed a controlling hand and if Robert could not provide it, why not Ned as goodfather?

But, no, Ned had been right. Robert had for too long relied on others to help him rule. Stannis had arrived this afternoon, but Robert had not yet spoken to him beyond an initial greeting at the welcome feast. Instead, he had summoned him to his chambers, in the hopes of receiving some sober counsel.

He had called on Renly tonight as well, to the young man's surprise. Despite his flaws, Renly was astute and well-liked. He would not be one to tell Robert only what he wanted to hear.

The knock on the chamber door drew Robert from his thoughts.

"Enter," he said.

Stannis and Renly came in together. Robert supposed they had met by chance on the way. Surely they would not have planned to come together, if they even knew they had both been summoned.

He stood, even though a King stood for no one. "Thank you both for coming."

"When was the last time we all met together like this, eh?" Renly was smiling, but Robert could tell that both he and Stannis were taken aback by Robert's own uncharacteristic grimness.

Robert poured water for himself and his brothers. Stannis thanked him politely, but Renly glanced down at his cup. "Not wine, brother? Did you bring back the finest ice in the North for us?"

"I felt we could all use a clear head," Robert said. "I wish to speak with you not as my councilors but as my brothers. I need someone I can trust."

"Have you turned to us because Stark refused?" Stannis asked bluntly. Robert had been expecting that; Stannis could not accept the position on its own, but had to point out that someone had turned the King down and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Yes." It was the truth and it was time he faced the truth. "He was the brother I was raised with, though not of my blood. Though you both are of my blood, we did not know each other as boys. But you are my true brothers and I ask for your help now."

"You have it," Renly said at once. Robert was grateful. Despite his usual demeanor, he knew when to leave the japes aside.

"Ned caused me to look at all I have done as King. I haven't done very much. I have failed as both a King and as a father. My son is no fit heir." He'd catalogued his own failures all the way down the Kingsroad, but this was the first time he'd admitted them aloud. There was no one else besides Ned he could have done so with.

"I can ease your worry on that count," Stannis said, as though discussing the weather. "He is not your son."

"What are you saying?" Robert looked at him sharply. "You may be my brother, but Joffrey will be your King and—"

Stannis's voice was firm and unflinching. "Robert, if you bear me any love, you must listen and believe me. He is not your son. I have seen your bastards."

"You will not shut up about Edric Storm, will you?" Robert had been quite ready to discuss his shortcomings but he didn't need Stannis to catalogue the ones that had no bearing on his kingship.

"I do not mean to shame you here." He paused. _For once_ , Robert thought. "There are others. They all look like true Baratheons, like you, and me, and Renly."

"The children resemble their mother." Even as he said it, Robert knew it was a feeble argument. He remembered looking at each one over the years, trying to find some hint of Baratheon there—Renly's ears, perhaps, or his mother's nose. He had never found it.

"They do, true. But none of your others do. Edric Storm, Mya Stone in the Vale, Gendry Waters in Flea Bottom, Bella in Stony Sept, the twins you got on that serving girl at Casterly Rock—do you remember any of their mothers? Not one of those children resembles its mother."

"It's at least worth investigating," Renly said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Robert snapped.

"It means that I think it has some merit. You asked for our counsel, brother, and here we are giving it." Renly was smiling, hoping to break the tension.

Robert frowned. It was a lot to take in, a lot that didn't bear thinking about. To think that Cersei, his Queen, would have taken a lover…

"I heard this truth from Jon Arryn himself," Stannis said. "And I believe he died for it. That is why I left for Dragonstone. I did not wish to be the next to fall to some Lannister footpad."

"Lannister?" Robert frowned, remembering Jon's sudden death. It could have been the work of some poisoner. "Does everyone in the bloody realm know but me?"

"The question remains," Renly said. "Whose children are they if not yours? Who is the Queen's lover?"

"I don't have any idea," Robert said. "She is hardly anywhere without a knight of the Kingsguard."

"Well then," Renly said. "Perhaps we ought to look there first."

"I've been blind," Robert murmured, lowering his gaze. "You speak the truth, though. I had always hoped Cersei would finally bear a child who looked like one of those bastards of mine. It never happened, though. She has—she must have…" He trailed off, unable to speak it. He bore no love for Cersei, but one did not consider charging one's wife with treason lightly.

"And so we make enemies of the Lannisters," Renly said, taking a swig of water as though it were wine

" _They_ made enemies of _us_ ," Stannis said. "They attempted to steal the throne and place one of their bastards on it."

"But what can I do?" Robert asked. "I have only bastards myself."

"The time to worry about that is later," Renly said. "You can take another wife. Or even legitimize one of your bastards. I'm sure it would do much to soothe ruffled feathers surrounding Edric Storm were he to become your true heir."

Robert said nothing, in the hopes that the thoughts swirling in his mind would soon ebb. "We owe much debt to Casterly Rock. The castle is overrun with Lannister men."

"Then the time for change is now," Stannis said. "If we make an ironclad case for the Queen's treason, no one should oppose us but the Lannisters. They can be dealt with." He paused. "And your gold problems would be partially resolved."

Renly laughed. "For once, Stannis looks on the bright side."

Robert laughed, despite himself. It felt good to laugh, with his trueborn brothers. There would be much work ahead—more than he wanted to think about—but at least he knew he could count on them to help him become the King he needed to be.


End file.
